Power apparatus.



No. 863,839. PATENTED AUG. 20, 1.907.

W. W. FLIGKINGBR. A

POWER APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 13,1905.

Ill i 2- ,sylvania, have invented any apparatus as may UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

POWER APPARATUS.

Specification of I Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 20, 1907.

Application filed July 13,1905. Serial No- 269,545.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, WILLIAM W. FLICKINGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bradford, Penncertain new and useful Improvements in Power Apparatus, of which the following is a specification,

My invention relates to power applying plants andit is designed for instance to supply compressed air or other gases for use in all situations where this may be required, as for example in driving oil pumps from a central station or reservoir, the said plant or apparatus also being arranged to drive machinery more closely associated therewith, such as in the same factory or shop in which the plant or apparatus is located.

The invention includes an explosive engine having means for transmitting power, such as a crank shaft adapted to be beltedor connected in any other suitable manner to nearby machinery or apparatus to drive the same, the said explosive engine being adapted also to compress air which is stored in a suitable reservoir or tank, and is adapted to be drawn therefrom to drive be desired, either nearby or at a. distant point, such for instance as in an oil field where widely separated pumps are required to be driven from a central stored source of power.

My invention includes also means whereby the air compressing portion of the cylinder may be filled with air to its full capacity so that on thecompression stroke the piston will have a full supply or volume of air to operate against and compress.

The invention consists in the features and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly poined out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, the figure is a part sectional view and part' side elevation of an explosive engine embodying my improvement.

In these drawings the explosion chamber is indicated at 3. Any suitable igniting devices may be employed and suitable ports and valves are provided for the ex- 40,. plosive mixture and for the exhaust.

I close the. front end of the cylinder by a plate 4 and in this way the piston 6 which is closed at each end serving both as head or plate 4 at the front end of the enginecylinder with a crankshaft 11 carrying a flywheel 12.

The air compressing end of the cylinder is provided with a' valved air inlet port 13 to which leads an air suction pipe 14 and allows the air tofiow'into the chamber This end of 5 when the piston 6 is on its back stroke. the cylinder is alsoprovided with leading from a port 17 controlled by an air discharge valve 18, of any suitable form. The air outlet 16 leads to a reservoir 19 which I have shown only diagramprovide an air compressing chamber 5,

I matically, and in this reservoir the air compressed by the action of the .piston 6 is stored to be drawn off as desired, through any suitable pipes leading to the apparatus or machine to be operated by the compressed air. It will be seen that l utilize the same cylinder which is of the same diameter its entire length in which the motor piston is located for tliu purpose of air compression and this is also true of the engine piston, that is the onepiston serves as the piston for the explosion chamber and for the compression chamber and from the same engine I am enabled to transmit power in two different ways, that is by the compressed air and also by the crank shaft in any'ordinary manner; I also provide means for introducing air into the air compression chamber to destroy the partial vacuum which exists at the end of the suction stroke: .This consists of the port 29 from which leads the pipe 30. This port and pipe are uncovered at the end of the piston stroke in each direction. 0n the forward stroke of the piston the uncovering of this port allows the spent gases or foul mixture to discharge through the pipe 30 which then acts as the exhaust. When the'piston is on its backward stroke compressing the fresh charge of explosive mixture for the explosion, this port 29 is also uncovered as this stroke terminates. 7 During this stroke the air has been sucked in through the port 13, but a partial vacuum' would exist ordinarily if some means were not provided to destroy this at the end of the backward stroke of the piston, and in my present form the destroying of this vacuum is accomplished by the air that passes through the pipe 30 and port 29 into the air compression chamber. provided with a shoe or projection 31 on each end and in the final movement on each strokethe appropriate shoe or projection uncovers the port 29. When the piston is compressing air the'port is opened at the end of the stroke, and as above stated it is also open at the extreme end of the suction stroke, allowing the air which has a slight pressure from the previous exhaust without mechanical means or loss of power in any way to rush in and destroy the vacuum and thus giving the air cylinder its full capacity at every stroke. The filling of the air cylinder is aided because of the fact that there is a littlepressure on the at the time the port is uncovered. This permits a much higher speed to the compressor as the principal objection to running compressors at high speed is that the vacuum existing at the end of the suction stroke greatly reduces the efiiciency ofthe compressor. This feature is especially valuable for explo;

sive motors as thelatter are better adapted to high speeds and in fact it is necessary to run them at'liigh speed to make them effic ient.

I claim-as my invention:

1'. In combination'inan air compressing engine, 8. cylinder,.a piston, means for admitting motive fluid to one end of the cylinder air inlet and discharge means for the other end wherehy the air 1's drawn in on one stroke and discharged on the reverse stroke, m :19 for destroying the partial vacuum as the plston Teaches the end of its suction stroke, said means consisting'of a port so located as'to be uncovered as the piston completes its stroke inelther di rectlon, thereby acting on one stroke .as an exhaust port andon the opposite stroke as an air inlet port, substantially asdescribed.

2. An' .engine of the class described, comprising a cyllnaer, suction and discharge ports at one end of the 03 1- indei, means for admitting motive fluid to the other end of the cylinder, 9. piston having a projection or shoe on each end, and a port over which said. projections or shoes slide to be uncovered thereby both on the suction and com WILLIAM w. YFLl CKINGER Witnesses w FRANK M. Tx'rus, ALEX MCDANIEL. 

